November 2024 in Portland…

Everything so tense before the election, then a blurred time of surreal disbelief afterward…meanwhile, we had a late, very colorful fall, with Mother Nature screaming, “Look at me!”, which I did on neighborhood walks and one hike. At the end of the month we took a road trip to California for Thanksgiving – see next post.

Knitting and Home Improvement

I attended the Sacred Sheep Fiber Festival on November 2nd, with my knitting friends. We saw the sheep, and I bought some vintage buttons for my Icelandic vest, and a mini skein for a future project. I have several gift knitting projects on the go – more about that next month.

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One of the sheep

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New buttons and mini skein

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Finished Iceland vest – Calidez by Jenjoyce, made with Allafosslopi yarn

We are still in home repair/declutter mode. I reorganized some of my bookshelves, and I am particularly happy with this shelf dedicated to Jane Austen.

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Jane Austen shelf

November 7, Catherine Creek Arch Loop, WA

Once again walking this oft repeated hike, visiting familiar views.

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Mt Hood to the west

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Eastern view along the Columbia River to Oregon

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Passing our ent friend

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Rock spires, fall colors

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The arch

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The road

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Big leaf maple

From the trailhead, we could see the controlled burn swath on Sunflower Hill – and that it is already greening up. Hopefully, native species recovery is occurring there!

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View from the trailhead up Sunflower Hill

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Closer view

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Zooming closer to see the green

Neighborhood color

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Our transplanted blueberry bush

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The day after the election, this invasive, poisonous pokeweed bush, and lingering demonwraith caught my eye.

But fall colors were late and glorious this year, all through the neighborhood, saying, “Look now! We will be gone tomorrow!”

I felt punched in the gut by the election outcome, that we did not finally elect our first woman president, and now have to face a term of inanity. However, I have my own survival/resistance plan, which includes inspiring my children, who were also gutted by the outcome. I saw the the “Ozymandias” poem shared around on the internet, one of many examples of past overtopping failures, and eventual recoveries and progress. History repeats, but it is painful to be living through the regression, when we could be doing so much better for the people and the planet. I appreciate the lingering yard signs in my neighborhood even more. We are in this together.

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Not really, but sort of.

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Same.

October 2024 chronology…

In the interest of keeping up, I’m posting a brief chronology of what I did in October after our visit to Mt Rainier during the first week.

Hikes and other adventures:

Portland Art Museum – Our son visited from Philadelphia, and we visited the Beatles photography exhibit during his stay…

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I got my first glimpse of the extensive remodel of the Portland Airport.

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Portland Art Museum – we all like the Beatles, and my husband and I are just old enough to remember the early 60’s.

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Most of the photographs were taken by the Beatles during their early 60’s American tours.

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Beatlemania from the inside of the car…

October 10 – Our son joined us on a hike from the East Crater Trailhead, Indian Heaven Wilderness, WA.

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East Crater

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Junction Lake

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Small lake along the Old Cascade Crest trail

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Frozen bog

October 16 – We went up to the Hoyt Arboretum in Forest Park to see the Japanese Maple, but it was still mostly green.

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Vine maples changing

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Japanese maple still green

October 18 – We hiked with friends in the eastern gorge, Lyle Cherry Orchard Trail, and could see over to the Catherine Creek area, where a controlled burn had spread to nearby forest.

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Convict Road viewpoint

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Lyle overlook, smoke from the Top of the World fire

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Closer view of the fire

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Wide view looking west

October 24 – Back in the eastern Washington gorge the next week, for one of those perfect fall hikes at the Labyrinth trail – colors blazing, views forever.

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Rowland Lake, near the trailhead. A late bunch of poppies; destination ponderosa on the skyline.

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Mt Hood on view

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Hello to the trail guardian oak tree

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Creek almost dry, but a few ponds in the stream bed

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Oak leaves

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Oak grove

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Lunch view

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Ponderosa near our destination…

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From which we can see over to the controlled-burn area above Catherine Creek.

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Going down past the ridgeline oak tree

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A glorious day!

October 29 – We went back up to the Hoyt Arboretum, to see the maple tree now in nearly full color.

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Meanwhile – Neighborhood walks…

Neighborhood Halloween –

Neighborhood Hope – I am writing this in November, but we did have hope in October…all through the neighborhood.

Crafting – was mostly knitting, but also, near daily prep and painting over numerous patches in the walls from plumbing repairs.

And I carved my Halloween pumpkin with inspiration from my kitchen sock monkey.

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September 2024 at home

We spent a lot of time working on home projects this month while following doctor’s orders to stay off trails while my husband’s Dupuytren hand surgery healed. The good news is that his hand is much more functional, and we are back on the trail – see the next post. Meanwhile, at home in Portland, it has mostly been a beautiful month – not too hot or smoky, and we’ve had a few local adventures…

September skies-

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Art in the Pearl, September 2nd –  I like to walk through the exhibits, and be thoroughly inspired by the many thousands of hours of artistic creativity on view – a few of my favorites:

Backdrop of new and old buildings…

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And a comparison – last year I took a photo of the graffiti on the side of an old building near a vacant lot – this year there is a whole new building in the space…

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2023

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Bookgroup views from Suavie Island on a beautiful evening-

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North Portland

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Mt St Helens

Neighborhood gardens-

Picnic lunch at Laurelhurst Park- on a day when we were running errands around town. We haven’t been here for years, though we visited often when our children were young.

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Laurelhurst Park Lake

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The dance studio

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Charlie Brown van we passed near the park

Neighborhood whimsey- I noticed several new fairy gardens, and a new resident bear while on walks this month.

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Lael Wilcox finished her Ride Around the World! – I followed this endurance athlete all summer as she circled the globe on her bicycle. I listened to her brief daily podcasts, and cheered her on from afar! (photos from Instagram)

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Of course there has been knitting – I finished a scarf and cowl, started a hat, and acquired new yarn for gift socks…

Other news of the world –

A quote by one of my favorite artists:

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Another (another another another) sad event:

And yet I continue to hope for change…

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Neighborhood yard sign

August 2024 at home…

August is my birthday month. I had a lovely day at the Oregon Coast, and 3 other hiking adventures this month – described in the next post. In the meantime, I have been walking the neighborhood, knitting, visiting with friends, and trying to keep hopeful for what happens next in the world!

Neighborhood flowers, shadows, cracks, other sights:

Farmers Market and summer fruit:

Knitting – I finished my Emotional Support Chicken and a pair of socks, with a few other projects in progress:

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Emotional Support Chicken

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Finished socks; Innsbruck scarf in progress

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Iceland/Caladiz Vest

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Scrap yarn One Chevron Cowl, in progress

Other ...We have been laying low at the end of the month, as my husband recovers from a hand surgery. A few images from around town and elsewhere:

Portland – I love the flying geese imagery of the Fremont Bridge across the Willamette River:

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Fremont Bridge, westbound

Camas, WA – My friend’s Echinacea and bees are thriving:

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The Columbia River from Camas, WA, August 12, 2024

North Carolina – Our daughter has a new office space on the Duke Campus:

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Durham, NC, August 2024

In New Zealand – The Northern Royal Albatross Web Cam chick is near fledging:

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In memory – My mother would have reached her 100th birthday this month. This is one of my favorite pictures of her, at Mt Rainier, in 1995, age 71.

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She died in 2006. I always regretted that she didn’t get to see Obama elected president – she would have been so happy. But she would have been crushed by what happened in 2016, so I’m glad she missed that. She would have been fully hopeful, as I am, about our future:

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July 2024 update…

We were in Iceland for the last week of June and first two weeks of July. When I returned, I had a 24 hour travel day, a nine hour time shift, and a very mild case of Covid as part of my re-entry process. I made it through all, and then was able to share some time with visiting family members.

July 18-23 – Visiting with my family in Portland and Eugene. We spent a few days in Portland, and came across quilt shows in the Portland Central Library, and at Powell’s Books. We also visited the Peninsula Park Rose Garden.

Portland’s beautiful Central Library, with art show:

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Quilt show at Powell’s Books:

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Peninsula Park Rose Garden:

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Family events in Eugene and Portland:

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A favorite garden in Eugene

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A belated birthday party

Knitting – I made progress on the Emotional Support Chicken, very fun! And started knitting a vest with the Allafoss Lopi yarn I bought in Iceland.

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Emotional Support Chicken, in progress

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Vest swatch

Hiking – Larch Mountain, Oregon – July 30th – I went on one short hike at the end of the month. It was cloudy, so no mountain views today. Lovely to be in the forest and see a few wildflowers.

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Sherrard Point Trailhead – only a third of a mile, less than 200 feet, to the top.

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Stairs to the top of Larch Mountain

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Views to the south – Mts Hood and Jefferson behind all those clouds.

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Looking north – clouds, rocks, wildflowers

Traveling – June 23 – July 13 – We drove completely around Iceland, more than 1200 miles of driving, and more than 50 miles of hiking. We visited every size and shape of waterfall; also, volcanic rocks, geothermal fields, glaciers, fjords, black sand beaches, birds, and wildflowers. I plan to create a more detailed post in the future. Below is a highlight photo collage.

Meanwhile, a couple of family members were also traveling:

From Iceland, my husband continued eastward to Chamonix, France. He completed an 80 mile hiking tour of Mont Blanc with a tour company!

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Mont Blanc

And my daughter was able to travel with friends to Portugal, then on to Paris for a bit of Olympics!

Looking forward…with hope…

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May 2024…

May was a busy month, with a visit from our daughter being the best part. We also planted our garden, and went on several hikes (next post). I cut out some new quilt block pieces and knit on several projects.

Sewing – Emily taught us to make her famous sock monkeys, and we got a good start. We will finish during her next visit.

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Emily’s Sock Monkey

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Other monkeys, in progress

Knitting – I finished a shawl and one sock, and started another scarf.

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Modified Chloris Shawl

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One sock done, one started.

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Garter and Lace Scarf made from the Linello yarn I bought in Innsbruk last summer

Quilting – Friends All Around – I cut patches for quilt blocks from the leftover Transparency Quilt fabric.

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Tentative patch placement – Modern Quilt Studio – Friends All Around blocks

Garden – We planted tomatoes, basil, cucumbers, marigolds, a few other flowers….

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Neighborhood Rainbow – So many things blooming in our neighborhood! I collected a rainbow on my walk one day…

Art Experiences –  Emily and I visited our friend Claire’s latest exhibit in a downtown hotel. I love her ability to capture the beauty I see all the time in our favorite natural places.

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Paintings by Claire Christy-Tirado

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Coyote Wall

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View from Timberline

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We also saw this nautilus when walking around downtown.

May 30th – We took a short hike at Brooks Memorial State Park outside of Goldendale, WA, then stopped to see the latest exhibit at Maryhill Museum.

The setting…

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View from the museum plaza looking …east,

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South,

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And west.

I was particularly interested in seeing their new exhibit, a collection of historic and new paintings and photographs, arranged in geographic order from east to west along the Columbia River. I’ve shared a few of my favorites below.

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The most impressive piece was a four panel journey along the Columbia River – beautiful!

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And random extras – We were served by a “robot” waiter in a Burmese Restaurant.

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Robot waiter

A lovely Mother’s Day card…

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April 2024, hiking, etc…

April is prime wildflower season in the eastern Columbia River Gorge. Before and after our road trip to California in the middle of the month, we hiked some of our favorite wildflower trails.

April 2nd – Tom McCall Preserve/Rowena Crest, OR – We walked the lower section of Tom McCall Preserve, and then a loop on Rowena Plateau, on a day when the balsamroot were just opening, and unusual clouds were reflected in the Columbia River.

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Looking back at the Rowena Crest viewpoint

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Popcorn flowers in the meadow

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Glacier lilies

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Balsamroot just starting to bloom at the lower elevations

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Fresh balsamroot

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Parsley alley, with purple Columbia desert parsley

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and fern leaf parsley

Over on Rowena Plateau…

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Clouds reflected in the glassy Columbia River

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And in the pond on the plateau

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April 5th – Memaloose Hills, OR – My childhood friend Susan visited for the first time since the pandemic. We took her to see the balsamroot in the Memaloose Hills, on a slightly rainy and windy day.

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Walking up the southside of Chatfield Hill with freshly blooming balsamroot.

More flowers of the day…

And we stopped to show her Multnomah Falls on the way home…

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Multnomah Falls

April 22nd – Dalles Mountain Ranch, WA – We hiked the Upper Loop near the ranch through these famous blooming fields…

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Balsamroot and lupine, Dalles Mountain Ranch

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Balsamroot

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One tree to rule them all!

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Phlox, Mt Hood

April 22nd – Catherine Creek, WA – And we heard that the Lewisia had begun blooming at Catherine Creek, so we made a short side trip up to the Fairy Ponds on our way home.

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Bitterroot on basalt

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Camas

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Swales of camas and orchards of Mosier

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Bitterroot

April 30th – Mosier Plateau, OR – A short hike on a slightly rainy day.

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Mosier Plateau, and the S curve of Coyote Wall across the Columbia River

Meanwhile, in Portland …

Dogwood and camus were blooming in the neighborhood….

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Dogwood

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Giant camas

I took my friend to Powell’s Books, where the small art gallery had a display of book art….

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I finished knitting a cowl, and made progress on my travel socks…

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Ebb and Flow Cowl, pattern by Michele Bernstein; Barrett Wool Company Evenfall yarn

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Travelling sock

And in the spirit Keeping Portland Weird, someone in my neighborhood has gone full Mad Hatter’s Tea Party with their yard decor…I love it!

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Meme of the month…

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February, 2024…

I’m trying something new here. My desktop computer is temporarily unavailable to me, along with most of my photo library. This month I will try to create my post using only my iPad, and the photos on my phone…

Around the neighborhood…

Crocuses are blooming…

My monthly collection of shadows and cracks…

Wildlife in the neighborhood…

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Street art, Northwest Portland

Hiking…

I only managed two hikes this month…have I mentioned it has been particularly cold and rainy this year? One urban hike, with friends, and one out in the Columbia River Gorge, at Catherine Creek.

February 4, West Hills Long Walk – It was almost seven miles, and 900 feet elevation, all on pavement, sometimes on busy roads, sometimes across one of several cemeteries that are on the tops of the West Hills. Our friends who live in the neighborhood guided us, as this is their regular walking area. Not my favorite kind of walking, because of the traffic and the pavement, and it turned out to aggravate my hip bursitis, which I am still feeling, darn it! But we did enjoy the time with our friends, and the views across the city.

Gaia track of our West Hills Walk.

February 12, Bitterroot Trail at Catherine Creek – We walked about 4 miles, on both the lower and upper trails, looking for grass widows, and we found them. We also saw a few salt and pepper parsleys, and lots of water everywhere. This is my one phone picture of the fairy pools. There are a few purple grass widows in the foreground – though the exposure, looking toward the midday sun, is not ideal.

Fairy pools at Catherine Creek, Washington

Quilting – I finished the top of my Modern Quilt Studio Transparency Quilt – Mystery Quilt. I also made the back, and it is now in my queue for quilting.

I am improv piecing the back for my Lodge Quilt, which I made from the Modern Quilt Studio summer mystery quiltalong, using the leftovers from that top. I enjoy the process of improv piecing so much more than the extremely precise sewing and point matching required for the Transparency quilt, but both techniques have their place.

Lodge Quilt back, in progress…

Knitting I finished a few items – hats for the Puddletown Knitters Guild Service Project, the Mystery Shawl for The Rose City Yarn Crawl Mystery Knitalong, and the most recent pair of socks, and I started a new pair of socks for some upcoming travel knitting…

Six “Warm One” hats for donation, made of Knit Picks Mighty Stitch, held double.

Finished socks
New socks

Plumbing!… In December we had a leaky pipe that created a small flood in our basement – we found it and had it fixed before too much damage was done, but it prompted us to replace the 92 year old pipes that run through most of our house. We are currently experiencing the dust and noise created by cutting through plaster and tile – very efficiently, but still not pleasant. Then there will be the patching and painting. Meanwhile, we get a peek inside the walls of our house, which has very good bones…

While preparing for the plumbing work, I took down this twenty year old dragon from the laundry room wall to keep it out of the dust zone.

Dragon by Emily, 2nd grade

Quilts in the News….

I did not attend the Quilt Con show in North Carolina. I enjoyed looking at the images on Instagram, and was moved to tears by their Best in Show quilt. The artist, a teacher, crowd sourced the items shown from other teachers, and created this piece. (Images from Instagram)

I think the IPad format worked, though a bit time consuming having to learn the new touch prompts. One of the many things I am upgrading this month.

January 2024 in Portland…

Winter…Rain and cold and ice storms…not much outdoor time this month, a few views of the mountains, and a visit to the eagles of Balfour-Klickitat, a lot of knitting and a bit of quilting…but all is well at the end of January, as we welcome longer days.

First Day Hike – January 1 – We tried to go out to the Gorge, but the wind was cold and relentless. We returned to Portland, and hiked at Powell Butte, which was sheltered from the cold blasts of east wind (next post for details).

Ice Week – January 13 to 19 – It began on Saturday, the 13th, with below freezing temperatures and fine, powdery snow. High winds blew down many trees throughout the city. We were fortunate not to lose power though many did.

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Powdery snow

On Monday, it stayed so cold that nothing melted. The sun came out and I went for a short walk, but the bitter wind made it rather unpleasant.

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We wouldn’t see thawing temperatures for a week – and in a city without many snowplows, that means we all stayed home for the week, almost in pandemic lockdown mode, especially after Tuesday, when everything was coated with an inch or two of sparkly but treacherous ice.

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An inch of ice on every surface!

We counted 25 gold finches on and around our neighbor’s bird feeder.

Also, a hungry squirrel.

On Wednesday we were teased with a bit of thawing, but then it all froze again.

Finally on Sunday we had serious thawing, but it took a few days to melt entirely, and some people were without power for many days. These conditions may be common elsewhere, but I personally am not a fan of the cold temperatures.

The snow and ice added much needed snow to the mountains, and also shut down the roads through the Columbia River Gorge, with icy conditions and fallen trees. Many of the trails still have trees down, landslides, and flooding. We could see some of this the next week when we drove through the Gorge for our annual trek to see the bald eagles near the town of Lyle, Washington (next post for details).

Meanwhile, I have had plenty of time for Knitting and Quilting:

I finished two long time projects – the Anthology Throw, by Helen Stewart, made from 24 different 20 gm leftover balls of sock yarn.

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Anthology Throw

The Hitchhiker Shawl by Martina Behm, made from a discontinued silk marino yarn.

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Hitchhiker Shawl

I’ve made the first three of many hats I plan to knit as part of the Puddletown Knitters Guild service project, destined for the local women’s shelter.

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In progress: I started a pair of socks with the alpaca wool yarn my son bought for me from a Philadelphia yarn shop.

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Philadelphia Socks

And I have finished two of the five clues on the Rose City Yarn Crawl Mystery Shawl KnitALong – the two yarn skeins I bought at the Sacred Sheep event in Portland last fall. it is lovely to work with the bright colors and beads on these gray days.

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Rose City Yarn Crawl Mystery Shawl

I also started the Modern Quilt Studio Secret Agent Mystery Quilt Along – with the Transparency fabric. We are about half way through the clues, and I am enjoying the process.

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Transparency blocks, in progress

For the record, I have been practicing quilting on my new Juki machine, and hope to have something to show for it next month.

In The Wild….Two of my children were out and about in New York city in January; and the third, in North Carolina, has assured me that her custom knit convertible mittens are really great for biking on cold days.

December 2023 – all about the light..

December is a month for hibernating, preparing for holidays and family visits, rooting for the solstice, and trying to get all the knitting done for holiday gifts. I only went on two hikes this month.

Early December...sun getting lower, shadows longer, I was counting down to the solstice with two advent-style knitting projects and a few walks on dry days.

A little bit of knitting every day on the stocking and the mystery gnome…

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Arne and Carlos Mystery Stocking

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Imagined Landscapes Mystery Gnome

Hanukkah was early this year. We lit candles and had friends over for latkes on one of the nights.

December 12 – Hike – Lyle Cherry Orchard Discovery Trail, WA – We hiked the 4.5 mile loop on an overcast day – taking in the views and getting some good exercise.

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Looking east as we ascend

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View west from our lunch stop

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Circling back below the Lyle town sign

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And almost back to the Convict Road.

December 15th – We passed Joan of Arc on our way to lunch and bead shopping with the knitters…

December 20th – Hike – Dry Creek Falls, OR – Another dry weather window – we hiked a past Dry Creek on the Pacific Crest Trail to one of the pinnacles, but not all the way to the main pinnacles. It was a good seven mile hike.

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Starting up the trail at Cascade Locks.

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The pinnacle near our lunch stop. All the forest we have hiked through today has 2017 burn scars

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Slight view across the Columbia River from our lunch stop.

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Back to the PCT bridge over Dry Creek,

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and upstream a short way to the falls —

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Dry Creek Falls, pouring out of a notch in the columnar basalt.

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They are quite beautiful!

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Splash pool at the base.

And back at the trailhead, the park at the Bridge of the Gods is adorned with festive light displays.

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On the Solstice, I took an enjoyable walk through the neighborhood – happy to know that longer days are ahead.

Christmas week – House guests, finishing the knitting, decorating the tree, wrapping and unwrapping presents, tamales on Christmas Eve and dinner with friends on Christmas day. A little bit of baking, but not too much. It was a relaxed and enjoyable week.

Some of the Knitting:

The month ended with more clouds and rain. I found a version of the Christmas story on instagram that resonates with me for its inclusiveness, and the reminder that although history repeats itself in terrible ways, there are always people who step up and help.

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Weak sun through clouds

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Rain wet streets and sparkling lights

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Message of hope